The time Jesus said that it is a bad thing when people love you – John 15:18-16:4, Part 2

What Jesus says in John 15, verse 19, causes me to wonder about the quality of Christianity in a place like the USA.  He says, “If you belonged to the world, it would love you.”  Sounds good. I want people to love me. Is Jesus saying that belonging to the world is good?

The word that the NIV translates “belong” in verse 19 is technically saying, “If you are of the world.”  To be “of something” is to be part and parcel of it.  This is not just membership to Costco.  Jesus is referring to what we give our allegiance to, what shapes us, and how we live.  Are we of the world?  Or are we of him? 

Jesus here presents to us the possibility of a Christianity that is so unlike Jesus that it is acceptable to those who are not followers of Jesus.  Of course the world would love the people, whether they call themselves followers of Jesus or not, who give their allegiance to the world.

What I’m referring to is a version of Christianity that is not Christianity at all.  It is nominal Christianity.  Nominal means “in name only.”  Anyone can call themselves “Christian.”  Anyone can take the label.  Nominal Christianity is a totally different situation to actually living like Jesus.  This is a major concern.

This is a version of Christianity that, though it calls itself Christianity, it abandons Jesus’ ways in favor of using worldly means and worldly power.  In our day and age, evangelical Christians in America have placed hopes in political maneuvering, in financial power, in church growth strategy, when God says, “Not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit.”  Or “Some trust in chariots, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” Where does our hope truly lie?

Do you call yourself a Christian?  What do your actions reveal?  In our study of Jesus in the Gospel of John, he has taught about our actions frequently.  We show that we are his disciples by how we love one another, by how we follow his teachings.  Yes, we believe in him.  But much more importantly, our actions, our life choices show the content of our beliefs.  Our actions reveal who we truly are. 

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